Cheltenham Town FC

After an abject, abysmal and quite frankly embarrassing performance at the weekend, it seems that positivity is inevitably thrown out of the window for large proportions of my blog this week. Ever the optimist, I am not going to join the “You don’t know what you’re doing!” minority or the “Team is not good enough” crew. Instead, I will be heading up the “It’s only 3 games in” mob.

Taking my usual seat in the In2print for the Plymouth game with an uncontrollable spring in my step, I felt confident that we would be picking up our first 3 points of the season. Considering our form over the last 18 months, we were well overdue a league victory. Added to that our stellar home record and the game was geared up for a positive outcome.

A flurry of goals later and the visiting Cornish crowd were ecstatic, their side 3-0 to the good. It was one of the worst atmospheres I have ever felt at Whaddon Road during half-time. It seemed as though no-one could comprehend what they had just seen. Usually, I would have faith in the boys that the second half would produce a fairy-tale comeback, but it never looked possible; taking Steven Gillespie off and introducing young debutant Bobbie Dale later in the game indicated that we had given up all together.

Now, while it is fair to admit that we could analyse how and why we lost the Plymouth game for an age, the points are long gone and there is nothing we can do to claim them back. So onward and upward to an apparent must win against Accrington Stanley on Saturday.

Lying bottom of the table with a solitary point, Stanley have had a similar start to the season, with plenty of goals conceded and a fair few of their better players unavailable. With James Beattie’s first attempt at management, this was never going to be a prolific season for a team whose gates are dwindling and whose off-the-field issues have taken centre stage. Their main goal threat for the season, Danny Webber, was sent off for a clumsy challenge at the weekend to top off a rather awful start to the season for the Lancashire club.

Taking all of this into consideration, I don’t think Mark Yates could have selected a more perfect game to steer the season back on track. A victory would mean a more comfortable looking mid-table position, which should settle us fans down from this unprecedented, unusual, uncomfortable early season panic. However, a defeat would mean a tsunami of pressure reigning down on Mark Yates and his new squad; the foundations of which are already growing.

While my prediction section of the blog has so far delivered flailing inaccuracies, I am determined to get this result right. That is why I am playing it safe and plumping for a 1-1 draw, a result which may not do much to silence the critics, yet will give us some much needed breathing space from the dreaded bottom of the league. 

I’m praying with all my might to the footballing gods. Let’s hope they listen…